For years, countless young teenagers and kids stared at their TV, watching the Emmy and Oscar awards, praying that one day that could be them. They were dreaming of standing up and receiving that golden statue. Kids grew up memorizing iconic movie lines, practicing in front of their siblings and parents, and imagining their names on big Hollywood posters. But today, with the growth of AI tools, the acting industry is changing faster than anyone could have imagined. The rise of digital actors, like the recent Tilly Norwood, has left many wondering if human touch still has room in Hollywood’s future. 

The reactions to AI’s use in Hollywood have been divided. Supporters argue that AI allows filmmakers to create characters that defy physical or budgetary limits, allowing storytelling to develop and expand beyond human limitations. Studios can save money on various expenses, such as extras, or background characters. However, actors and unions see it differently. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has repeatedly voiced concerns about how AI tools have transformed Studios’ abilities. For example, with the help of AI, studios can now scan an actor’s face, body, and voice to make a realistic digital copy. Once they have that copy, they could use it again in other scenes, movies, or ads without proper compensation or consent. Furthermore, many actors worry that the use of AI could render their skills, developed through years of lessons of immersing themselves in different characters, useless. 

The ethical concerns surrounding the use of AI in film and television have become even more complex. Some companies have already experimented with deepfake technology, to recreate celebrity faces for advertisements they never agreed to. The tools to scan and re-use an actor without their consent or any compensation are troubling to those who built their career around delivery. Many argue that this practice violates not only creative rights, but also personal identity. If there is no money or benefit at the expense of one’s skills, what is the point of risking everything for a dream that becomes useless due to computers? 

Despite the controversy, Hollywood is continuing to invest in AI tools and actors. Major studios are investing in AI driven tools for scripts, casting, and directing. Some companies envision a future where entire films are produced by AI, systems trained based off of cinematic data. Directors argue that the development of this technology could make production faster and more efficient for less fortunate creators. However, this push for AI dissolves the point of Hollywood entirely, of humans creating and developing art by themselves. Since only humans truly know what’s relatable, how will computers–guessing these factors based off of cinematic data it’s fed– engage with an audience? If our focus as a society is only to find efficient ways of creating art and entertainment, what becomes the point of Hollywood entirely? 

There simply is no clear answer yet as to what career AI leaves behind for humans. Whether or not computers will be the ones receiving that Emmy or Oscar award, our future remains uncertain with the constant development to make everything more efficient. However, one thing remains certain: technology may change how stories are told, but it cannot replace the human empathy and emotion that real humans bring to the screen. For that, relatability can never truly be captured by a computer.